Saddam Hussein told the FBI that he misled the world into believing Iraq still possessed weapons of mass destruction because he feared revealing his weakness to Iran, according to declassified interview transcripts.
*
The late Iraqi dictator also told his interrogators that he regarded Osama in Laden as a "zealot" and had no contact with the al-Qaeda leader or his organisation.
Despite defeat in the Gulf War at the hands of the American-led coalition, Saddam still regarded Iran, with which Iraq fought a bloody war from 1980-88, as a greater threat than the US, the documents show.
*
Saddam Hussein's last interviews revealed

"Hussein believed that Iraq could not appear weak to its enemies, especially Iran," FBI special agent George Piro wrote on notes of a conversation with Saddam in June 2004.
Mr Piro wrote: "Hussein stated Iraq could have absorbed another United States strike, for he viewed this as less of a threat than exposing themselves to Iran."
The transcripts, released under a freedom of information request, both undermined the Bush case for war, which was based on the threat of WMD and alleged Iraqi links to al-Qaeda, and underlined the absurd length of Saddam's desire to convince the world that he held WMD.
In the wake of the March 2003 invasion, no such weapons have ever found and before leaving office in January Mr Bush himself acknowledged that "most of the intelligence turned out to be wrong".
Saddam, identified as "High Value Detainee Number One," shared Mr Bush's hostility towards the "fanatic" Iranian mullahs, according to the records, which were requested by the National Security Archive, a non-governmental research institute.
He also stated that the United States used the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack as a justification to attack Iraq and said the US had "lost sight of the cause of 9/11".
He asserted that he had never met nor supported Osama bin Laden, though he said "yes" when Mr Piro mentioned two visits to Baghdad by an al-Qaeda ideologue, Abu Hafs al Mauritani, which included requests for "tens of millions of dollars". It was not clear if that was regarded as confirmation of the visit or acknowledgement of the Americans' belief they took place.
FBI special agents carried out, in Arabic, 20 formal interviews and at least five "casual conversations" with the former Iraqi leader after his capture in December 2003. He was hanged in 2006.
Saddam revealed that the farm where he was discovered in an underground room was the same one where he hid in 1959 after taking part in a failed assassination attempt on the president.

More than 20 Iraqis who worked for British forces are to sue the UK government, the BBC has learned.

Most were interpreters, who say they were not given adequate protection from attack by extremist militias.

They claim they were owed a duty of care, and later this week will begin their legal actions in a bid to gain compensation from the UK.

The government says it has helped hundreds of Iraqis settle in the UK through an assistance scheme.

It also says "many thousands" of Iraqis have worked for British forces since 2003.

Some became targets for local militias who saw them as collaborators.

As the security situation deteriorated some were murdered, others fled to Syria and Jordan, some went into hiding in southern Iraq.

[After] my loyal and faithful service to the British army, I am alone without any help

"Jamal"
Jamal - not his real name - knew he couldn't go on working for the British after his best friend was killed.

"He was tortured, severe, merciless torture and was killed and thrown into a remote place," he said.

Jamal, who is 28, worked for the British army from March 2005 to December 2005, but now lives secretly in Basra. His says his family constantly worry about him.

"It was like a daily nightmare for them, whenever I was going out they were thinking of me, they were fearing and expecting the worst for me."

Iraqi interpreters often accompanied UK soldiers on patrol
Jamal now sees no option but to take legal action against the government which he feels let him down.

"I feel so disappointed. [After] my loyal and faithful service to the British army, I am alone without any help. It is devastating to me."

Legal action

Jassim - who also does not want to use his real name - decided he had to give up work and take his family to Syria because of the anonymous death threats he received on his mobile.

"They said 'we know where you are working, we know your house, we know what time you came into the base'," he said.

Both applied to come to Britain under the Locally Engaged Staff Assistance Scheme (LESAS), set up to help local staff employed by the British.

But neither had served continuously for 12 months, so their applications failed.

The two men, along with more than 20 others, are expected to start legal action this week to sue the government.

Sapna Malik is a partner at the solicitors Leigh Day and is co-ordinating the actions.

"The MoD could certainly have taken better steps to protect the identities of interpreters and in certain cases they should have housed the interpreters on the bases," she said.

There are 25 claims in total, and most of them are interpreters. Three are the wives or mothers of men who were murdered by militias.

Duty of care

She says the British government owed local staff a duty of care.

"Financial compensation will go a significant way to reduce the hardship they've been suffering.

"They are also hoping that this will help shape the policy if Britain gets involved in any future conflicts."

IRAQIS IN UK UNDER LESAS
Resettled in the UK - 201 former and current employees
Total including dependents - 612
Rejected - 694
Two years ago the prime minister announced help for Iraqis who had served for a year - they were offered financial assistance or resettlement.

The scheme closed for former employees in May this year.

Of those eligible, 201 have come to Britain. Hundreds of others have taken the money. But almost seven hundred have been told they do not qualify.

The Foreign Secretary David Miliband praised the "dedication and commitment" of local staff in a recent statement.

"The scheme for assistance is designed to reflect our enduring debt to them. I am pleased it has proved popular and effective," he said.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: "We have made a decision to focus assistance on those staff who have had a sustained association with us in the most difficult circumstances."

Baghdad: The suicide bombers who killed 95 people in devastating attacks at Iraqi government ministries on August 19 were recently released from US custody, a senior Interior Ministry official said on Sunday.

The truck bombings in Baghdad also wounded 600 people in what was the worst day of violence to hit the country for 18 months, dealing a major blow to the country's security efforts in the wake of a major pullout of US troops.

"The suicide bomber who blew himself up at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was released three months ago from Camp Bucca," the official said on condition of anonymity, referring to the US jail near Basra.

"The suicide bomber who blew himself up outside the Ministry of Finance was also released a few months ago from the same jail."

Since the start of this year 4,000 Iraqi prisoners have been freed by the Americans and handed over to Iraqi officials, who then take the decision on whether they stay in prison.

About 11,000 prisoners were still in US custody, according to figures released in June.

"We have no proof that a former detainee was involved in the bombings," a US Army spokesman said on Sunday.

"The government of Iraq is still investigating the attacks, and it would be inappropriate for us to speculate as to who may have been involved while the investigation is ongoing."

The Interior Ministry official, however, said that 14 suspects had been arrested in the wake of the attacks and that the truck bombs were prepared in southern Baghdad.

"The vast majority of them were released in recent months from Camp Bucca," he said.

"Each of them had a precise role. One was responsible for buying the trucks. One was in charge of making sure they could enter Baghdad. One made sure that the explosives were packed on the trucks and others were the suicide bombers."

The disclosure contradicts an official version of events which last Sunday saw the government parade a former police chief who they said orchestrated the Finance Ministry bombing.

Wissam Ali Kadhem Ibrahim admitted to plotting that attack.

"I received a call a month ago from my boss in the (Baath) party Sattam Farhan in Syria to do an operation to destabilise the regime," Ibrahim said in video footage, alluding to executed dictator Saddam Hussein's now outlawed political movement.

The 57-year-old suspect said the truck bomb was prepared in Khalis, 80 kilometres (50 miles) northeast of Baghdad, and that he had called a contact in the nearby town of Muqdadiyah to ensure its safe passage to the capital. Iraq ministry bombers `recently freed by US`

The Iraqi journalist, who shot to instant fame for throwing his shoes at George W Bush, has been inundated with offers of cars, homes, money and even a wife in the run up to his release from prison, a media report said.

“This is your farewell kiss, you dog. This is for the widows and orphans of Iraq,” Muntazer al-Zaidi had said while throwing a pair of shoes at the then U.S. President, Mr. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad last December.

Now, in preparation for his early release next Monday, following a presidential pardon, the offers are rolling in for Mr. Zaidi who has won the adulation of millions in the Arab world, The Guardian reported.

A new four-bedroom home has been built by his former boss. A new car — and the promise of many more — awaits. And pledges of harems, money and healthcare are pouring in to his employers, the al-Baghdadia television channel.

“One Iraqi who lived in Morocco called to offer to send his daughter to be Mr. Muntazer’s wife. Another called from Saudi offering $10 million for his shoes and another called from Morocco offering a gold-saddled horse.

“After the event, we had callers from Palestine and many women asking to marry him, but we didn’t take their names. Many of their reactions were emotional. We’ll see what happens when he’s freed,” said Editor Abdul Hamid al-Saij.

However, Mr. Zaidi — sentenced to three years in jail by an Iraqi court for throwing shoes at Mr. Bush — told his brothers, Maitham and Vergam, that he has plans to open an orphanage when he leaves jail and will not work again as a journalist.

“He doesn’t want his work to be a circus. Every time he asked someone a difficult question they would’ve responded by asking whether he’s going to throw his shoes at them,” said Mr. Vergam.

BAGHDAD - At least 61 people were killed and 219 wounded in coordinated bombings across Iraq over a three-hour span Wednesday morning.

The bloody attacks, in at least a dozen cities and towns from Basra in the south to Mosul in the north, came a day after the U.S. military announced that the number of U.S. troops has dropped below 50,000 for the first time since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

The combination of roadside bombs and car bombs largely targeted security forces and appeared to represent a resounding statement by Sunni insurgents that they are still strong enough to topple police stations, set Iraqi army trucks ablaze and kill scores of people nationwide.

The countrywide attacks, also underscored the fear among Iraqis of what the future will bring as U.S. troop levels dwindle and a political stalemate nearly six months after national elections fuels a rise in assassinations and other violence.

The deadliest blast Wednesday ripped through the eastern city of Kut after a man drove a vehicle rigged with explosives into a central police station, killing at least 19 people and wounding at least 90 others, according to statements by police and medical officials.

Earlier, a man drove a vehicle weighed down by explosives into a northern Baghdad police station, toppling parts of the building. The blast reverberated through the neighborhood and the top floors of six homes were ripped a part. Shattered glass and debris littered the ground where at least 15 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 57 wounded.

On Wednesday evening, emergency response teams were still combing the rubble for two missing girls. Relatives of a mother and child and a father and son, killed in the blast, were erecting funeral tents.

"It was like hell," said Sarmad Abd al-Ghani, a shop owner. "It was like an earthquake. All of this is because the politicians are fighting over seats."

Iraqi security officials were quick to blame the Sunni extremist group al-Qaida in Iraq for the attacks.

"The terrorist aggressions against different parts of our country today are desperate attempts from al-Qaida to disparage our security forces' performance after the American drawdown," Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta, the spokesman for Baghdad security forces, said on state television.